Over an hour and a half later the last of the surviving applicants had completed the Pillar Run and gone back above ground, leaving Yoruichi with a few free minutes to run through her sheet and do a fresh count. The attrition hadn't been quite as bad as she'd initially feared; there were still 1,207 applicants left in the running.
Looks like we've got a pretty strong pool of contenders this year, she thought with a smile, Phase Two is usually the one that gets the most washouts, and that was before I put my own spin on it!
"You seem rather pleased with yourself," said Tessai.
Yoruichi nodded. "You could say that. I do like to consider myself a good judge of talent, after all."
"You're referring to the two men who finished at the head of the first wave," said Tessai, "I take it those are the two special candidates you mentioned earlier, yes?"
Yoruichi grinned. "You got it. Pretty impressive, eh?"
"I would certainly say so," Tessai admitted.
Her grin became a smirk. "Even more so when you consider that they took down a Hollow barehanded the night before, don't you think?"
Tessai looked a bit taken aback. "You cannot be serious!"
"Oh, I totally am," Yoruichi replied, "Go ask Unohana if you don't believe me; the two of us saw the whole thing."
Tessai shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I've known you long enough to be able to tell when you're joking and when you're not. Do you think they have what it takes to pass Phase Three?"
Yoruichi nodded. "They've got strong spiritual pressure, even if they don't realize it yet. They'll be fine. That doesn't mean it won't be interesting to watch them in Phase Three, though; it's always fun to see how peoples' energy manifests in the Crystal Lens."
"That it is," said Tessai, "Will you be needing any further assistance from myself or my subordinates?"
Yoruichi shook her head. "Nope, Phase Two was all I required you guys for. Thanks for the help with that. I owe you one."
"Not at all," Tessai replied with a smile, "I'm always happy to lend a hand. Enjoy the final phase of the exams. I look forward to hearing the results later."
Yoruichi smiled. "Don't worry; after the Captains' review is finished, you and Kisuke will be the first ones I come find. Catch you later!"
Now, then, she thought as she headed up the passage towards the surface, It's time to move forward to the final act. I hope you're ready, Itachi!
….
Once again, Itachi was back in the meal hall trying to rest up before the next phase of the exams. Once again, he was all too aware that people were watching him. Jiraiya had him under the scrutiny that he had come to expect from the Sannin since the exams had begun, but he was still surprised at how many of the applicants kept glancing his way. Initially several had approached him and Jiraiya after they'd returned from Phase Two in order to gain insight into what lay ahead, but the two Shinobi had maintained their discipline and declined to answer all inquiries. After a while the applicants who hadn't taken the test yet gave up, the attention Itachi continued to receive from his fellow candidates for enrollment remained. It was especially noticeable amongst those who had actually been part of the same wave in Phase Two that Itachi and Jiraiya had been in when they'd taken the test; they could not believe that the two men had completed the Pillar Run so quickly and with such apparent ease.
To his right he heard Jiraiya chuckle. "It's tough being famous, isn't it?"
"I have no interest in fame or notoriety," Itachi replied, "What others think of me is their business. It does not matter to me."
Jiraiya smirked. "Oh, yeah? Does the same go for our lovely proctor?"
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Just what exactly are you implying?"
"Don't bother denying it," said Jiraiya, "In that last leg of Phase Two you pulled out all the stops to finish first. You wanted to impress her!"
"She's our proctor," Itachi replied coolly, "Whether we pass or fail these exams is up to her. It's only natural for me to desire her to witness what talents I have, even with my powers reduced as they are."
"Really?" said Jiraiya with a knowing look in his eyes, "It was just for the exam score, you say? How come I'm having a hard time buying that?"
"Because yours is the mind that came up with the Make-Out Paradise series," Itachi quipped, "You can't help but construe other meanings from the interactions between men and women."
Jiraiya laughed. "Is that what you think? Well… you might not be entirely wrong there, I suppose."
It was just at that moment that one of the doors opened, and in walked Yoruichi. She wasted no time in addressing the remaining applicants.
"All right, everyone, follow me!" she ordered, "Phase Three is this way!"
Itachi, Jiraiya, and the others did as they were told. Eventually the group found themselves inside a broad courtyard. There were rows upon rows of what looked like meditation mats, and sitting on each mat was a clear crystal about the size of a ball from a child's game.
"Congratulations on making it to the last phase of the entrance exams," said Yoruichi, "Brains and skill have gotten you this far, but your final test is going to examine something else entirely; the quality of your spirit energy."
She then gestured to one of her assistants, who brought her a crystal just like the ones on the meditation mats. "Phase Three is known as the Crystal Lens, and these rocks are the reason why. They're naturally forming crystals found in caves scattered across the Soul Society. These stones have a special property to them; they can create a visual manifestation of someone's spirit energy. Here's an example for you."
She held the crystal in one hand and focused her gaze purely on that stone. Itachi's eyes narrowed as a white flame suddenly appeared in the center of the crystal. The flame rapidly expanded until the entire stone was bathed in its light.
"The spirit flames that appear in these crystals will allow my assistants and I to measure your spirit energy," said Yoruichi, "These are the properties we'll be examining; the strength, durability, and most importantly the stability of your spirit energy. Don't be surprised if the flames that appear in your crystal aren't the same as mine; the color depends on the individual touching the stone. This phase of the exam will last a half an hour. In that time, my assistants and I will be wandering around the courtyard and monitoring your spirit energy. If either myself or one of my aides places a hand on your shoulder before time's up, that means you washed out. Everyone still in the courtyard at the end of the half an hour will pass the test."
Passing the crystal back to her aide, Yoruichi gave the applicants her final instructions. "When you hold the crystal in your hands, empty your minds of everything else except for the crystal. If you need to take some time to meditate before grabbing the stone, that's perfectly fine; just remember that you don't have all day for this. Now, I want all of you to pick a mat and sit down. Phase Three will begin on my mark."
Itachi grabbed a mat towards the rear of the courtyard, while Jiraiya took the one next to him. The Legendary Sannin looked perfectly at ease with the nature of the final test, which didn't surprise Itachi in the least. After all, Jiraiya had been renowned in the ninja world as a master of Sage Jutsu, which required plenty of meditation in order to gain proficiency in; an exercise like this would be a walk in the park for him. Sitting down, Itachi looked at the stone in front of him. He already had his approach in mind; just like during Phase One, he would take a little bit of time to center himself before beginning the test in earnest.
Ten minutes of warmup meditation should suffice, he thought as he watched Yoruichi, prepared to start his mental timer the second she gave the go-ahead.
A moment later the Captain raised her right arm. "All right, then. Three… two… one… begin!"
….
Yoruichi sighed as she touched a red-headed girl on the shoulder. "You're out. Sorry."
The girl's eyes widened as she stammered in protest. "B-but I've barely even started!"
Yoruichi shook her head. "You can't fool me. That crystal's all the evidence I need."
It was true; the tiny crimson flame within the crystal was very weak, barely clinging to life. The pitifully small bit of spirit energy flickered and sputtered, far too inconsistent and frail for it to receive a passing grade.
The girl hung her head in disappointment as the flame disappeared entirely a few seconds later. "But… I worked so hard…"
"This isn't the end of the line," said Yoruichi, giving the girl an encouraging smile, "This just means that your spirit energy needs a little more time to grow. Build up your strength and come back next year. The Academy's not going anywhere, I promise you that."
She nodded at an assistant who came over to lead the girl out of the courtyard. Turning her attention to the rest of the applicants, Yoruichi's smile grew when she finally saw Itachi reach for his crystal.
So he used ten minutes for preparation, she mused, Just like Phase One; he doesn't jump in without making sure he's ready. That sort of prudence will serve him well in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads…
Jiraiya had taken much less time to prepare than Itachi had; he had only spent five minutes in preliminary meditation. That smaller window didn't seem to hurt him in the least, though, for Yoruichi could see the blue-white flame within the crystal still burning brightly and steadily. The white-haired man seemed to be a natural at this exercise, and his was definitely the strongest flame that she had yet seen amongst the applicants.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied Itachi closely. The raven-haired young man held the crystal in both hands with his eyes closed. For a few seconds, there was no activity whatsoever, but that changed the moment he opened his eyes. A black flame ignited, and it quickly grew until it came to dominate the entire crystal. It was an entrancing sight, and Yoruichi wasn't the only one drawn to it; all the other aides had ceased observing the rest of the applicants and were staring in awe at Itachi's crystal.
"Impressive," she said softly, "Most impressive…"
As much as she wanted to focus her attention solely on Itachi, Yoruichi forced herself to pull away and scan the class as a whole. There were still about twenty minutes left in the exercise, and it looked like everyone had manifested their flames of spirit energy within the crystal. From here on out it would be a test of endurance and stability. There was no rule that stated someone had to maintain their flame from the moment it ignited until the end of the test, but doing so certainly wouldn't hurt that person's final score.
It's too bad Unohana's prepping for the physicals right now, she thought as her gaze went back to Itachi and Jiraiya, I bet she would've loved to see this…
The minutes slowly went by, occasionally interrupted by Yoruichi or one of her aides informing a student that they had failed the test. By the time Phase Three finally came to an end there were 1,105 applicants remaining. It actually was about the middle of the road as far as prior enrollment groups were concerned, but Yoruichi wasn't particularly interested in whether or not the exams proctored by her had the largest or smallest amount of people who were able to pass them. She was just glad that it was nearly over. She still had to go over the Phase One test results of those who had survived the whole process, but that was something she was actually looking forward to doing since she would have a considerable amount of help with it.
"All right, you can all rise," she said with a smile, "Congratulations on making it through the last phase of the Shin'o Academy entrance examinations!"
A round of cheering went through the group of surviving applicants. Jiraiya had a pleased grin on his face, and while Itachi appeared more subdued Yoruichi still caught a hint of a satisfied smirk from him.
"Okay, settle down," she said after a moment, "Feel free to throw a party later, but there are still a few things we need to get out of the way before you can officially start your freshman year at the Academy. For now, I want you all to return to the meal hall. You'll find members of Squad Four waiting there. They'll be handling your physicals, so cooperate with them fully if you want to make sure you get to go to class on the first day of the semester. Once your physical exam is complete, you'll be taken to the student dorms. Orientation will begin tomorrow morning, so make sure you rest up."
As the successful candidates began leaving the courtyard, Yoruichi called out to her two favorite applicants of the bunch. "Itachi, Jiraiya! Come over here for a minute, will ya?"
The two men glanced at each other for a moment before approaching her. The rest of the new students gave them curious looks before leaving the courtyard. Yoruichi didn't really care about impressions or appearances of favoritism now that the exams were officially over, especially since she had something special in mind for the stars of today's tests.
She grinned as the two of them came up to her. "Well done, both of you! I'm pretty sure I'm not blowing smoke when I say that you two blew these tests completely out of the water!"
Jiraiya smiled. "Well, now, it's a pleasure to hear you say that! Any chance you can pass that praise along to Unohana?"
Yoruichi smirked. "You can tell her I said that yourself; she'll be personally handling your physical, along with Itachi's. You two are getting the VIP treatment, so make the most of it!"
Jiraiya chuckled. "Oh, I will!"
"We weren't being given similar treatment during the tests without our knowledge, were we?" asked Itachi, his eyes narrowing.
Yoruichi shook her head. "No. You two went through the exact same tests as everyone else. You just happened to be by far the most gifted candidates this year. I was rooting for you guys, but I didn't do any favors for you; you passed the exams on your own merits, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Itachi nodded. "I see. Thank you for that; my success here would have no meaning if it were not achieved honestly."
Yoruichi smiled. "That's a good attitude to have. You'll go far in the Academy, Itachi. Hell, I bet you'll be the favorite of all the teachers before the first week of the semester is up!"
Jiraiya folded his arms and grinned. "Oh, yeah? What about me?"
"Gifted class clown, all the way!" Yoruichi replied with a laugh, "At least, that's the vibe I get from you, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya smirked. "That sounds fine by me."
"Good," said Yoruichi, "By the way, once your physicals are done, I want the two of you to return to the meal hall, all right? I'll swing by and pick you up; there's some people that I want to introduce you to."
"Colleagues of yours?" asked Itachi.
Yoruichi grinned. "Yup! You two scored one hell of an opportunity with the way you performed today; I'm gonna introduce you to some of the other Captains later! They're gonna want to meet you when they see your test results, and don't be surprised if they start throwing out recruitment offers!"
If I know them, those'll start flying as soon as I tell them about the Hollow incident, she thought, I'd like to get both of these guys into Squad Two when they graduate from the Academy, but if I have to share I suppose I can give up Jiraiya. That being said…
…you're gonna be all mine if I have anything to say about it, Itachi!